• UK Postal Order
• Credit/Debit card or
• Cheque. Please make cheques payable to 'Home Office, Work Permits (UK)'.

• You have urgent travel commitments;
• You require urgent medical treatment;
• You have received an offer of employment;
• You have other exceptional circumstances.

You will be required to complete an HSMP Urgent Treatment form which can be faxed to the HSMP Team on 0114 207 6021. You can obtain a copy of this form from the 'All Forms' page.

15. How do I notify a change of my address?

If you change your address please send full details to the HSMP Team in writing to:

E-mail: HSMP.workpermits@ind.homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk
Fax: 0114 207 6021.

16. How long have I got, after a successful application decision, to enter the UK?

You must apply for Entry Clearance at a British Embassy within your own country and within 6 months from the date of your approval letter.

17. How do I apply for an extension to an existing HSMP permission or one close to expiry?

Extension applications must be submitted up to one month before your Leave to Remain as a Highly Skilled Migrant expires.

Please complete an FLR (HSMP) form, enclosing the appropriate fee (£335) and specified required documents (see Annex C of the FLR(HSMP) Guidance Notes). Your passport and those of any dependants must be sent together with the FLR (HSMP) form in order to be endorsed.

18. I was initially granted 1 year on HSMP, for how long will this be extended when I apply for an extension?

The Immigration Rules allow an extension of stay as a Highly Skilled Migrant to be granted for a period 'not exceeding three years'. However, in light of the changes to the Immigration Rules which came into effect on 3 April 2006, which increased the qualifying period for settlement from four to five years, you may be granted a four year extension.

19. I have been working in the UK for 4 years and my HSMP visa is about to expire, can I apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain?

No, the minimum requirement for Indefinite Leave to Remain is now 5 years. You should apply for Further Leave to Remain, which is normally granted for 3 years. You can then apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain as soon as you reach the 5-year qualifying period.

20. My application for HSMP was unsuccessful, what can I do?

If you believe the decision on your application is incorrect and you wish the case to be reviewed without submitting any new evidence, then you may complete the Review Request Form, from the 'All Forms' page.

You should clearly state where you think the case should have been scored differently (please include your reference number) and post to:

Highly Skilled Migrant Programme (HSMP)
PO Box 3468
Sheffield
S3 8WA

Your case will then be passed to a different case-worker who will mark it independently. Only one review of a decision can be requested. You will not be charged for this.

However, if you wish to submit any new, or additional, evidence to support your application, or if you wish to claim additional points, you must submit a new HSMP application, on a new form along with all the original documentary evidence. As this constitutes a new and separate application, you will be charged the standard fee for a fresh application which is currently £315.

21. What if I meet the points threshold to gain HSMP but don't have the evidence to meet the English language requirement?

In order to qualify for HSMP approval you must achieve 75 points in the Points Scoring Assessment and also demonstrate that you meet the English language requirement. If you cannot meet both of these requirements, your application will be refused.

22. I was intending to enter the UK under the GP Provision, is this still possible?

The GP Provision was removed from the HSMP on 08/11/06. Individuals who would have previously been granted HSMP approval under the GP Provision may, however, still apply for HSMP approval but must meet the points threshold and the English Language requirement in order to qualify.

23. I have previously studied and worked in the UK, can I claim five points in the UK Experience category for each of these?

You can only claim a total of five points in this points scoring area for either UK study or previous UK employment but not both.

24. I have evidence other than that stated which I wish to be considered in place of those documents, can I do this?

No. Only the specified evidence will be accepted. In exceptional circumstances we may be willing to consider alternative documents, but only those we have stipulated. Any documentation which does not meet out requirements will not be considered and may lead to refusal of the application.

25. What is a tax return?

Under the Required Evidence section of the Previous Earnings guidance, the term ‘Personal Tax Return’ is used.

A tax return is

• the official confirmation from HMRC or the relevant country’s tax authorities of declared taxable income for the period concerned (e.g. a P60 or the overseas equivalent; or a variation of this issued by the relevant tax authorities.)

This term does not refer to the tax return document completed and returned by an individual to the relevant tax authorities. Nor does it refer to a P45 (Details of Employee Leaving Work).

26. Salaried earnings - I have not got a tax return to cover the full period – what can I do?

Your personal tax return documentation must be submitted wherever it is available. Where you have not yet received this documentation for the current tax year, or if your documents only cover part of the period claimed, you must submit what tax information you have. In addition, you must complete the exceptional consideration box AND send us documentary evidence to support your request for exceptional consideration (this may be your most up-to-date tax return but may also include other documentary evidence to support the reasons you have given).

If you provide sufficient information to support exceptional consideration Work Permits (UK) will then consider the alternative documentation you have asked us to look at (i.e. Bank statements covering the period claimed for or a letter from your employer stating salary as claimed), and make a decision based on these.

27. Independent Contractors - I have not got a tax return to cover the full period – what can I do?

 All four pieces of specified evidence must be provided.

However, one of the required pieces of evidence is your income tax return. If you have not yet received this documentation for the current tax year, or if your documents only cover part of the period claimed, please provide your most recent tax return or what tax information you have. We will consider the tax evidence you have provided, alongside the other three pieces of required evidence.

28. Self-Employed Applicants - I have not got a tax return to cover the full period – what can I do?

You must supply both an income tax return and personal bank statements to cover the entire period claimed. In addition, one of the listed combinations of additional documents must also be supplied.

If you have not yet received your tax return or if you do not have an income tax return to cover the entire period claimed, please provide your most recent tax return or what tax information you have. We will consider the tax evidence you have provided alongside the other required evidence.

Separately, under the listed combinations of additional documents for Self-Employed Applicants, the requirement is for company/business tax returns to be provided. These need not cover the entire period for which previous earnings are being claimed, but should detail your individual earnings for the period they do cover.

29. What is an independent contractor?

Under Previous Earnings on the application form, evidence can be submitted under three different categories, Salaried Earnings; Independent Contractor and Self-Employed. It has been designed this way to help you submit the right evidence to support your claim for previous earnings. The evidence required is different for each category and you must determine which category to use. The type of evidence you have available will help you to determine which best fits your circumstances.

We cannot advise on your employment status but there are some guidelines which you might find help you.

If you operate as a business or as a limited company you will fall into the self-employed category.

If you are an independent contractor you may consider yourself to be self-employed because you do not have continuity of employment with a single employer, but you may only be able to provide some of the required evidence from the self-employed evidence list and some from the employed salaried evidence list. To help cater for this we have created a specific category for Independent Contractors (e.g. some IT Consultants, Freelance Journalists, Artists, Management Consultants etc.)

You might find it helpful to refer to the H.M. Revenue and Customs (HMRC) definition of an independent contractor to help you - Information on employment status for NIC can be found on the HM Revenue and Customs website, at http://www.hmrc.gov.uk under the section on Intermediaries Legislation IR35, found on the A-Z list via the site map on the HMRC website.

30. What are overseas earnings?

When completing the Previous Earnings section of the points scoring assessment, you must declare which of your earnings, during the period in question, have been UK earnings and which have been overseas earnings.

UK earnings will be considered to include any earnings that have been paid either to you (in the form, for example, of your salary), or to a UK based company or business which is capable of being taken into account for the purposes of UK taxation calculations.

Conversely, overseas earnings will include payments made to a business that remain overseas and which are not therefore subject to UK tax regulations.